The anguished face of the young jewelry store worker in Sauces 9 who walked a short distance carrying the explosives that the extortionists attached to his body is an image that is hard to erase. In addition, it marks a new mechanism for the spread of terror in Ecuador.

The head of Zone 8, William Villarroel, confirmed that this is the first case that happened in Guayaquil.

Fortunately, the explosives were defused after three hours, which must have been endless for this man and his family. So endless must be the efforts of the authorities to find those responsible and prevent this from happening again and ending more dramatically.

The security guard whose explosives were removed from his body in Umac 9 was detained by anti-socialists on Wednesday evening

The inhabitants of this country cannot come to terms with the fact that at least 16 cases of murderers are written every day, as if it were an everyday story. On March 2, a report published by this newspaper noted that there were 945 murders between January 1 and February 27, 2023 – an average of 16 per day. If this level is maintained, the year will end with almost six thousand intentional crimes.

There is no place where you can have peace. On Tuesday night, an IESS official who was going to her house was killed; On Wednesday, a man who had dinner in a well-known shopping center on Av. Samborondón died at the hands of assassins; Yesterday, a young guard was on the verge of death from an explosive device, and before that people died in hospitals, urban areas, farms, streets or parks.

It seems that nothing is certain, but politicians are focused on constitutionally guaranteed conflicts, but in the midst of a reality that literally bleeds Ecuadorians to death, it is necessary to think: where are the priorities? It’s not a matter of ignoring investigations or processes, but dealing with emergencies, watching Ecuadorians go to work in fear of not coming back because of a stray bullet or an increasingly aggressive and brutal crime. (OR)